Today, I’ve got the sleek, slick, eye-catching artwork of Canadian illustrator and designer Frank Viva to grace 7-Imp. I should probably note that I’ve got manuscript revisions givin’ me the skunk eye of scorn—kinda like mouse over here—reminding me I should be focusing on them instead, so short posts may be the name of the game for a while here. (Well, short for me.)

What we have here is the tale of a young explorer and his sidekick, Mouse. The two travelers visit the beautiful Antarctic to see the sights, ride the waves in their boat, meet some penguins, and see a whale. Mouse is anxious to get home—“can we go home now?” is his repeated refrain—since the waves make it hard to do much and, based on his appearance, he’s generally anxious and ready to be back on terra firma. The final endpaper punch line, however, gives readers the rimshot ending: “Can we go back there soon?” Mouse asks. (Isn’t that the way with children on many road trip adventures?)

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Viva sets up a series of lists for young readers, which provide a pleasing rhythm to the book and opportunity for predictions, in which new readers actively engage, whether they realize it or not. “It is COLD out there, Mouse,” the boy says, for instance, to which Mouse replies: “Then you will need…boots…mittens…a hat…a scarf…and a snowsuit! Can we go home now?”

An author’s note states that Viva, whom you may remember from last year’s stand-out Along a Long Road, based this book on his experiences aboard a Russian research vessel during a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula — where he himself got sick, saw penguins and whales, and—ooh! ooh!—even “swam in the thermal waters of a submerged volcano.” He also notes this book, compared to the real-life adventure, was “much easier on his tummy.” Here he is below (ginormous yellow coat), followed by a picture of one of his whale encounters. Gorgeous, huh?

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

It’s the stylized, retro art in A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse that steals the show. Here’s where, instead of trying to describe it, I show you a spread or two. That manuscript, after all, calls my name.

One of my favorite trips was on the National Geographic ship to Antarctica. (And though those waves mouse is going over look exaggerated–but it’s exactly what Drake’s Passage feeks like. Dramamine doesn’t stand a chance.)

I really like how the book concludes with Mouse’s comment about “Can we go back there soon?” because many children are familiar with this phrase. It allows children to relate to Mouse and in a way, see how their life is similar to a fictional, character’s life. Reading a book about a mouse’s adventure captures the young reader’s attention because it allows them to flee from any stressors in their life while jumping into a story that is centered around an animal and their experiences that they go through.